Quote:MIAMI (Sept. 13, 2011) - Twenty-two teams from 10 different conferences make up this year's FIU men's basketball schedule, as announced by Head Coach Isiah Thomas today. The 2011-2012 schedule will feature seven teams that participated in post-season play last year, including three which made the NCAA Tournament (George Mason, UALR and Alabama State).

"I'm excited about this year's schedule," Coach Thomas said. "Starting the season off with the NIT Season Tip-Off will be a good gauge to see where our team is at early in the year. Our non-conference schedule is going to prepare us for a very challenging and competitive Sun Belt Conference."

The Panthers open the 2011-12 season versus the George Mason Patriots in the first round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off on Monday, Nov. 14. The game will take place on the campus of Virginia Tech and will be broadcast on ESPN3.com. This will mark the third meeting all-time between the Panthers and the Patriots, with George Mason holding a 2-0 edge in the series. The Patriots finished the 2010-11 season with a 27-7 record, falling to Ohio State in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

The winner of the FIU-George Mason contest will take on the winner of Virginia Tech-Monmouth in the second round on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

The Panthers will be making their second appearance in the NIT Season Tip-Off. During the 1998-99 season, FIU faced North Carolina in the first round, falling to the Tar Heels, 65-44, on Nov. 16, 1998.

This year's NIT field consists of 16 teams, including top seeds Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Virginia Tech. The first and second rounds will be played on the campus sites of the four highest seeds with the winners of the preliminary rounds advancing to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City (Nov. 23). The consolation and championship games will be played on Nov. 25. The remaining teams will play third- and fourth-round doubleheaders on Nov. 21-22 on the campus sites of the three highest remaining seeds. Participating teams will not play any team twice, and the third- and fourth-round games will be assigned to the most geographically compatible site.

Following NIT play, the Panthers will host the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday, Nov. 26. The FIU home opener will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Coastal Carolina (28-6) earned a berth to last season's post-season NIT, falling to Alabama in the first round, 68-44.

FIU travels to Atlanta, Ga., to face the Georgia State Panthers on Thursday, Dec. 1. The trip will mark the 16th meeting all-time between the two schools (FIU leads the series 8-7) and the first since the 1997-1998 campaign.

The Panthers return for a one-game home-stand versus the Alabama State Hornets on Saturday, Dec. 3. A member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, ASU claimed the 2011 SWAC Tournament Championship and fell to UTSA in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The Panthers will then begin a four-game road swing beginning in Nacogdoches, Texas, taking part in the Lumberjack E-tech Classic, hosted by Stephen F. Austin. The Panthers will square off against Texas Wesleyan on Saturday, Dec. 10, before taking on the Lumberjacks on Sunday, Dec. 11. Last season, Stephen F. Austin (18-11) fell to Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference Championship, 61-45.

The Panthers will stay on the road and take on ACC foe Maryland on Wednesday, Dec. 14. It will mark the second meeting all-time between the two schools (Maryland leads, 1-0) and will be broadcast live on ESPNU (8:00 p.m.). The Terrapins ended the 2010-2011 season with a 19-14 record.

FIU then travels to Dayton, Ohio, for its fourth-straight road contest, squaring off against the Dayton Flyers on Saturday, Dec. 17. The Flyers finished last season with a 22-14 mark and fell to the College of Charleston 94-84 in the first round of the post-season NIT.

The Panthers will close out the non-conference portion of the schedule, hosting Bowling Green on Thursday, Dec. 22. This will be the Falcons' first-ever trip to U.S. Century Bank Arena.

The 2011-12 Sun Belt Conference schedule begins with a two-game road swing for the Panthers. FIU will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Thursday, Dec. 29 then head to Bowling Green, Ky., to face the WKU Hilltoppers on Saturday, Dec. 31.

The Panthers will return home to host a pair of conference foes in ULM (Saturday, Jan. 7) and Middle Tennessee (Thursday, Jan. 12). They will then hit the road to take on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday, Jan. 14 in Lafayette, La., and the South Alabama Jaguars on Thursday, Jan. 19, in Mobile, Ala.

Florida Atlantic visits U.S. Century Bank Arena on Saturday, Jan. 21. The contest will be the 30th meeting all-time between the two teams. Seven days later, FIU will host WKU on Saturday, Jan. 28.

The Panthers start the month of February on the road with trips to Troy, Ala., and Boca Raton, Fla. FIU will take on the Troy Trojans on Thursday, Feb. 2, followed by the teams' second meeting of the season with FAU on Saturday, Feb. 4.

FIU will host two West Division opponents as North Texas comes to Miami on Thursday, Feb. 9, and Denver (Saturday, Feb. 11) makes its first trip to U.S. Century Bank Arena since Jan. 17, 2009. The Panthers take their final road trip of the regular season, traveling to Little Rock, Ark., to take on the UALR Trojans (Thursday, Feb.16) and Jonesboro, Ark., to face the Arkansas State Red Wolves (Saturday, Feb. 18).

The Panthers will close out the 2011-2012 regular season, hosting Troy on Thursday, Feb. 23, and South Alabama on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The 2011 Sun Belt Conference Tournament will take place at Summit Arena/Hot Springs Convention Center March 3-6 in Hot Springs, Ark.

For 2011-2012 FIU men's basketball ticket information, call 305-FIU-GAME.